Viral Crypto Marketing: Swipe Kaito's Strategy
If you’ve ever watched a new Web3 product blow up overnight, you might have wondered: How did they do it? Or maybe you’ve assumed that going viral is purely a matter of luck. Truth is, it’s not.
Kaito, a Web3 research platform, showed this when it took an obscure asset valued at 0.1 ETH to 7 ETH in just 30 days. 30 DAYS.
Let's see how they turned their Genesis NFT into a red-hot collectible that leaped over $18,000 so you can do it too.
Why “Viral” is Never an Accident
We’ve all heard the word “viral” thrown around, but let’s define it in the Web3 context.
Viral crypto marketing means creating a product or campaign that spreads rapidly through social networks—drawing attention not just from existing users but from entire ecosystems and the broader crypto market.
Kaito’s Genesis NFT journey offers the perfect case study:
Starting Price: 0.1 ETH
Peak Price (within 30 days): 7 ETH
Value Increase: $18,641+
A jump like that isn’t just a streak of good fortune; it’s a result of carefully engineered virality.
So, let’s break down how Kaito did it.
Step 1: The Cold Start Fix
The Problem: Many Web3 founders, developers, and builders make the mistake of launching too wide.
They try to target everyone—DeFi degens, NFT flippers, on-chain researchers, crypto normies, and more—right out of the gate.
The result? Their message gets lost in the noise, and they fail to achieve meaningful traction anywhere.
Kaito’s Solution: Go deep before going wide.
Specifically, Kaito started by focusing on on-chain researchers and content creators.
This smaller but highly engaged group was far more likely to adopt Kaito’s product, share its benefits, and provide feedback.
In other words, they built a robust foundation by winning over the right initial audience.
How They Did It:
Direct Outreach – Kaito’s team personally reached out to target users via Twitter, email, and community calls.
1:1 Demos – They ran live product demos for on-chain analysts, showing them exactly how Kaito’s platform would improve their workflows.
Free Trials – By offering a free trial, they lowered the barrier to entry and let people experience the product’s value firsthand.
Personalized Onboarding – Users got dedicated support to ensure they stuck around—vital for any product looking to increase retention.
Following these steps, Kaito had a dedicated user base by October 2024 that didn't just love their product; they needed it.
The lesson here is clear: the narrower your focus, the more impact you’ll have.
If you want to replicate this tactic, ask yourself before putting anything out: Who is my ideal customer?
Once you’ve identified that core audience, craft a tailored approach (like free trials or direct demos) that hits their specific pain points.
Step 2: The Expansion Playbook
After securing a solid core audience, Kaito expanded.
The second phase of their viral crypto marketing strategy involved rolling out the Yap Leaderboard—a gamified ranking system showing which accounts are driving the most attention in the Web3 space.
Moreover, they didn't release the leaderboard to everyone everywhere yet.
They chose a single ecosystem—Berachain—as their first target.
Why Berachain?
Existing Hype Cycle – Berachain was already trending, so Kaito leveraged that momentum.
Competitiveness – The leaderboard created friendly competition: more “yaps” meant a higher ranking, and nobody wants to be left behind.
Shareability – Kaito added a one-click social media share button, turning each user into a marketer. Simple, and massively effective.
This approach was so effective that Kaito repeated it with Monad, Fantasy, and Story Protocol, embedding itself in multiple ecosystems.
Each time, they tapped into communities already buzzing with excitement, offering those community members a simple, fun way to measure and share their influence.
Your Takeaway: Don’t try to conquer every network at once.
Find a specific, trending ecosystem.
Build something that fuels user excitement and challenges them to share.
Then, once you’ve established credibility in that pocket of the Web3 world, move on to the next.
Step 3: Virality Engineered—Two Key Lessons
1. Social Currency
If you want to engineer virality, you need to give people a reason to share.
Social currency is the idea that people share things that make them look good or knowledgeable.
With Kaito’s Yap Leaderboard, every share showcased a user’s “score” and standing in the community.
This was the equivalent of showing off a high score on your favorite arcade game—but in front of the entire crypto community.
Yap Score – Instead of something cringe-worthy like “Influencer Score,” Kaito made it fun and playful.
Competitive Edge – Users wanted to show off their rank. If they were in the top 10 or climbing up quickly, that was social proof of their influence and dedication. Moreover, it showed they were trusted.
Positive Feedback Loop – Sharing pulled in new users, who wanted to “yap” and climb the leaderboard themselves.
2. Public Visibility
If it’s built to show, it’s built to grow.
Designing your product or feature to be shareable is half the battle; the other half is ensuring it’s easy to share.
Kaito made leaderboard posts a one-click social post. No complicated instructions, no copy-pasting a URL. The simpler it is to show off, the more shares you’ll get.
Effortless Sharing – Remove friction. Let users promote your product with minimal clicks.
Visual FOMO – A great design triggers an emotional response. People who see the leaderboard don’t want to be left out. They jump in, sign up, and start competing.
Exponential Growth – Every share is a potential new user, creating a snowball effect.
Action Point: Reflect on your own project. Is it easy to share a score, progress bar, or any other metric that makes your product unique?
The more public your success markers are, the more people will feel compelled to spread the word.
Steal This Crypto Marketing Strategy: How to Engineer Virality in Your Product
Let’s distill these insights into a clear viral crypto marketing roadmap you can start implementing today:
Identify Your Core Audience
Don’t spread yourself too thin. Focus on a niche group—like NFT artists, DAO contributors, or DeFi traders.
Offer them something they truly need. Provide personalized demos, tutorials, or freebies to show immediate value.
Build in Social Currency
Give users a compelling reason to share.
Turn status or influence into a fun, digestible metric—like Kaito’s Yap Score.
Tap into Existing Hype
Identify a trending topic, protocol, or chain.
Create a feature, like a leaderboard, that leverages existing excitement.
Focus on Shareability
Minimize friction in sharing—single-click posts, copy-paste buttons, or auto-generated social media images.
Ensure your visuals look impressive enough to trigger FOMO in others.
Expand Ecosystem by Ecosystem
Once you’ve proven your concept in one ecosystem, rinse and repeat.
Tweak your message to fit each community’s culture and language.
Wrapping Up: From Niche to Viral Sensation
Kaito’s meteoric rise—going from 0.1 ETH to 7 ETH in a month—shows us that engineered virality is possible. The steps they took can be replicated:
Start with a tightly focused group that needs your solution.
Offer them something share-worthy.
Tap into a trend that’s already gaining steam.
Provide effortless sharing tools that showcase status and spark competition.
Whether you’re a crypto developer building a new DeFi protocol or a founder launching an NFT collection, these principles remain the same.
Don’t leave your success to chance. Instead, create a deliberate strategy that encourages your users to market for you. Viral crypto marketing isn’t magic—it’s methodical.
Now, it’s your turn:
Who is your ideal customer? If you don’t know, get clear on that first.
What wave can you ride? Look for trending narratives, networks, or upcoming protocol launches.
How can you make it fun? Even in the serious world of crypto, a little friendly competition goes a long way.
With the right framework and focus, you can replicate Kaito’s playbook and engineer the virality that so many Web3 founders assume is just luck.
Start building your own viral moment today—your future users (and your token price) will thank you.
